NEW YORK — The New York Rangers were dealt a pair of injury blows on Tuesday, as Adam Fox will go on long-term injured reserve and Igor Shesterkin will go on injured reserve, a league source said. Fox will be reevaluated when eligible to come off LTIR, and Shesterkin will continue to be evaluated.
Fox, who returned from an upper-body injury Dec. 31, did not suffer any noticeable injury during Monday’s 3-2 loss to the Mammoth, though he did not play in overtime. He was for the Rangers’ final power play of the game and last appeared with 59 seconds left. The Rangers have already seen how difficult life is without him — especially on the power play — and will now face another prolonged stretch with him gone. He has 28 points in 30 games this season and has boasted strong underlying numbers.
By going on long-term injured reserve, Fox has to miss 10 games and 24 days. That means the earliest he can return is Jan. 31 against Pittsburgh. In the aftermath of Fox’s injury, the team called up Scott Morrow from AHL Hartford. Coach Mike Sullivan used him on the power play the last time Fox was out.
The Rangers went 6-5-3 when Fox was dealing with his shoulder injury and were outscored 39-34. The power play struggled mightily, converting on only 15 percent of its chances. (It scored on five of eight chances in the past three games with Fox back.)
Shesterkin suffered his injury in the first period Monday when Utah’s JJ Peterka drove to the net. The Mammoth forward made marginal contact with Shesterkin, but the goalie fell backwards into the net and slammed his blocker on the ice in pain. Rangers defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and trainer Andy Hosler helped him off the ice. The goalie did not put any weight on his left leg. The injury appeared not to stem from the Peterka contact; Shesterkin’s left side never made contact with the Utah forward.
Losing Shesterkin for any time is a massive blow for the Rangers. Though the team’s defense has improved this season compared to 2024-25, the Rangers still rely heavily on their goaltending. Shesterkin, the Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s best goaltender in 2022, signed the richest goalie contract in history last season: an eight-year, $11.5 million average annual value deal. He’s in the first year of that contract.
Jonathan Quick will take on added responsibility with Shesterkin out. He has a .919 save percentage in 11 games this season. The 39-year-old two-time Stanley Cup winner has been an invaluable presence in the New York dressing room and has been strong as the No. 2 goalie, but needing him to take on a starter’s workload is a big ask. The last time he started at least 40 games in a season was 2022-23, and he had an .882 save percentage that year in 41 games with the Kings and Golden Knights.
The Rangers called up journeyman goalie Spencer Martin, who started the year in the KHL before signing with the Rangers. He has a .903 save percentage in three games. By calling him up, the Rangers passed over prospect Dylan Garand, who has a .908 save percentage in 17 games. That could potentially be to keep him in more consistent game action.
Depending on how badly the Rangers want to stay in the playoff picture, president and general manager Chris Drury could look to the trade market. Someone like Laurent Brossoit, a pending unrestricted free agent, could be an option with a low acquisition cost. He’s making his way back from double hip surgery and playing for AHL Rockford, where he has a .901 save percentage in six games. He has a .911 save percentage in 140 career games. His $3.3 million cap hit through the end of the season could make a deal tough, though Chicago could retain in a trade. Buffalo is currently carrying three goalies, so perhaps the Rangers could try to nab Alex Lyon from the Sabres.
The Fox injury, though, has to factor into the team’s thinking. New York is in last place in the East by points percentage, so trading prospects or draft picks — even lower-value ones — for a stopgap goalie simply might not make sense this season. The team won’t make the playoffs simply by staying afloat in the coming weeks: It has to make up ground, and that’s difficult for a team to do without arguably its two most important players.
